In The Dark
by Amyrisa Night
Summary: In which Cesia leaves the Dragon Tribe in search of her parents, and chaos ensues. [New chapter up, with an important note.]
1. Prologue

Hi people! This is my first DK fic so please don't blame me if it sucks too much. And the prologue might be a little long, so sue me. But I hope you like it. I basically got it planned out but still not sure what the pairing (s) will be, probably Rath/Cesia, still deciding.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Knights, the characters etc. etc. etc. They all belong to Mineko Ohkami.  
  
In The Dark  
  
Prologue  
  
The night was silent. Too silent, Cesia realized as she cautiously walked down the hall. She glanced over her shoulder and could've sworn she saw something. Something was definitely not right. Her hand lingered down to the sword at her waist.  
  
"Cesia?" startled, Cesia gave a short scream as she unsheathed her sword and pointed it.approximately two inches from Tetheus' nose. "Oh! Sorry, Tetheus." Cesia put away her sword.  
  
Tetheus, unfazed by Cesia's sword, frowned, then asked, "Cesia, is there a reason why you are roaming the halls? It could get dangerous."  
  
Cesia sweatdropped and answered, "Uh, I just needed to talk to his Majesty." While thinking, God, he's so serious [1].  
  
Tetheus was silent for a moment, and then he said, "Ok, Cesia. I need to go see the Lord myself. We can go together."  
  
Cesia blankly nodded a bunch of times before they started walking down the halls in silence. When they reached the Dragon Lord's study, which was still lit up with lamps, Tetheus walked in first, with Cesia following him. Lykouleon stood up as they walked in.  
  
"Hello Cesia, Tetheus. Is there a problem?"  
  
Cesia glanced at Tetheus, who nodded, letting her talk first. Cesia twisted her hands for a few moments before saying, "Excuse me, your Majesty, but I'd like to ask you for a favor." Cesia trailed off, unsure of how to ask the Dragon Lord.  
  
"Yes?" Lykouleon asked, looking at her carefully with a curious look on his face.  
  
"I was wondering." Cesia paused for a moment before finishing the last part of the sentence really fast, "I was wondering if you would allow me to go look for my parents."  
  
Silence. Tetheus and Lykouleon stared at her with dumbfounded faces. Finally Tetheus broke the silence.  
  
"It's too dangerous." Tetheus stated matter-of-factly. "I'll send someone else."  
  
"No!" Cesia practically shouted. "I must go! This is about me, finding my parents! I must go."  
  
Lykouleon, who had been silent the entire time Cesia had been ranting and raving, now spoke to her in a careful manner, "Cesia, are you sure you must go? Can this wait?"  
  
Cesia bit her lip as she stared at the floor. Then she looked up at the Dragon Lord. "I made my decision. I must go. Please, my Lord. I'm begging you." To prove her point, Cesia literally went on her knees.  
  
Startled, Lykouleon walked around his desk to Cesia. "Cesia, please stop it. You are free to make your own decisions[2]. You can go if you must. It's just in case if something happens and we might need your help."  
  
Cesia stared at the Dragon Lord with a blank look on her face. "Me?"  
  
"Yes, you, Cesia." Said the Dragon Lord as he tousled her hair good- naturedly. "But before you go, I'll need Tetheus or someone else to accompany you."  
  
Tetheus, in his usual serious and monotone voice said his usual line, "I must secure the castle. I'll send someone else with you."  
  
*A/N: And again, yes I stole that part from the book too. *sob* stop torturing me! But I can't help it! Tetheus says this all the time. It's too tempting! Now back to the story:  
  
Lykouleon and Cesia sweatdropped as Lykouleon chuckled nervously. Then Cesia said, "It's okay, Tetheus, my Lord. I think I'd like to take Zoma with me."  
  
For the second time that night, Tetheus and Lykouleon stared at Cesia with open mouths. "Z-zoma?" Tetheus stuttered. "I was thinking along the lines of a Dragon Officer." He said stiffly.  
  
"Actually, Tetheus," Lykouleon said, with a thoughtful look on his face. "I think Zoma will do good. He'll be able to protect Cesia just fine."  
  
"Oh! Thank you so much, your Majesty! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Cesia stood up again, this time bowing to the surprised Dragon Lord.  
  
"Cesia! Please get up and stay up!" Lykouleon said, embarrassed. He paused, thinking. Then he started again, "Cesia, when are you planning to leave?"  
  
Cesia stopped. In a quiet voice she said, "Tonight."  
  
Then, with an amused look on his face, Lykouleon advised, "I suggest you leave soon, before Rath notices and runs after you again." Reminding Cesia of the time she went to Mt. Mfartha. Tetheus just glared at Cesia with a disapproving look on his face.  
  
"Uh, ok. I should go get my stuff now." Cesia said, eager to get out of Tetheus' hard stare. "But thank you, your Majesty!"  
  
"I'll send Ruwalk to get Sarazar, my Lord." Tetheus told the Dragon Lord. "Good luck Cesia." He added at the last moment.  
  
"Huh?" Cesia turned and stared at Tetheus. "Why?"  
  
"So she can cover for you while you are gone." Tetheus said with a weird look on his face. Then he asked again, "Cesia, are you sure you don't want a Dragon officer to go with you? Just in case, with all the yokai/demons running around."  
  
"No, it's okay." Cesia said as she smiled at him. "But thanks though. And, your Majesty, may I talk to Sarazar before I leave?"  
  
"Of course Cesia." Lykouleon said, smiling. "Good luck, I hope you successfully find your parents. Tetheus and I need to talk now."  
  
"Thank you." Cesia said quietly one last time before she left.  
  
Once the door closed and the footsteps disappeared, Lykouleon turned back to Tetheus. "Now, Tetheus, is there a problem?"  
  
"Yes, my Lord," Tetheus started. "It's regarding Nadil's head."  
  
*******  
  
Knock! Knock! Cesia looked up from her packing. Her brow knitted as she called, "Come in!"  
  
It was the Dragon Queen Raseleane, carrying three different packages. She defiantly walked in with Afleegi following her, complaining that she should be in bed and not up. As usual, Raseleane just chuckled and said, "Oh Afleegi."  
  
Cesia clumsily stood up. "Your Majesty!" she said, surprised. "You shouldn't be here. Who told you about my journey? You should be in bed!"  
  
As Afleegi started half screaming about how even Cesia agreed with him, Raseleane said, "Oh Cesia, don't start talking like Afleegi, one of him is enough. I only came here to give you a few thing for your journey."  
  
"B-but your Majesty." Cesia stammered. "You don't have to! I'm just a fortune-teller! And who told you?!" she said the last part with Afleegi.  
  
Raseleane sweatdropped and meekly answered, "Tetheus told me." Both Cesia and Afleegi facefaulted and said in unison, "Tetheus?!" as Afleegi thought to himself again, He could never say no to the queen[3].  
  
"Yes, Tetheus." Raseleane said lightly, the way she always spoke to Afleegi. "Cesia, stop saying you're only a fortune-teller. That's what you said when we gave you your second dress."  
  
"Oh. Uh." Cesia openly gaped at the queen, unable to come up with a response.  
  
Raseleane just smiled. She turned to Afleegi, who was still chattering away at 2,000 words a mile and said, "Afleegi, there is something Cesia and I need to talk about." as she stared as the door.  
  
Afleegi took the hint and silently walked out after saying, "Good luck Cesia."  
  
Once Afleegi was out of the door, Raseleane turned back to Cesia and said, "Cesia, please show me your stuff that you're bringing with you. I need to check something."  
  
*******  
  
Ruwalk groggily walked down the hall to where Sarazar rest. He sleepily rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn. I'll never get used to this. He thought to himself.  
  
When he got there, he found Sarazar waiting. "Does the Lord need me again?" she asked in her misty voice (A/N: Well, she is a ghost.).  
  
Ruwalk nodded and started explaining, "You see."  
  
*******  
  
The Dragon Lord silently padded down the hall of the Dragon Knights/Officers. The talk with Tetheus left him troubled and a lot to think about. Lykouleon stopped when he reached Rath's room. He held his hand over the knob till the red glow that had appeared turned green[4]. He slowly opened the door.  
  
Inside, Rath was sleeping quietly. Too quietly, the Lord thought. "Rath." Lykouleon called softly. "I know you're awake, so please act like you're awake."  
  
Rath's eyes opened and he sat up, his red eyes practically glowing in the dark. "Yes, your Majesty?" he asked. Then he perked up. "Do I get to go hunting demons?"  
  
Lykouleon smiled and shook his head as he said, "No, I'm afraid not, Rath." He moved to the window, which was behind Rath. Once Rath's head was turned away from him, he held his hand up behind Rath's head. It started to glow white.  
  
Rath didn't notice, he went on saying, "Aww, are you sure? I want to go hunting. It's so exciting and everything."  
  
"No, Rath." The Lord said seriously. "I need you here in Draqueen. Until it is safe. Until then, you're needed here."  
  
"Oh." Rath nodded and tried his best to stifle a yawn. "I'm sorry, my Lord, but I feel sorta sleepy." Rath said, drowsy, as he trailed off.  
  
Lykouleon caught Rath's head before it crashed into the headboard. He gently lowered Rath's head onto the pillow. The Dragon Lord frowned. He didn't like casting spells on Rath, even if they might not work, but the special sleep spell was necessary [5].  
  
Lykouleon then turned and walked out of Rath's room and headed out towards Rune and Thatz's rooms.  
  
*******  
  
"Cesia," Queen Raseleane called after she approved of Cesia's packs. "I want you to take this sword with you on your journey." Raseleane handed Cesia a long thin package.  
  
Cesia opened it. In it was a long slim sword. Cesia carefully took it out of the box. The sheath was plain as ever, but when Cesia took the sword out of the sheath, she saw a wonder. There were intricate designs marking the blade. She could see that it was glowing with magic.  
  
"But your highness." Cesia protested.  
  
"Keep it Cesia." Raseleane said. "It's spelled to help you with your power of the wind."  
  
"Oh, ok. That makes sense." Cesia said after thinking about it. "Thank you your highness!"  
  
"You're welcome." Raseleane said, pleased. Then she picked up the next parcel and handed it to Cesia. Cesia opened it.  
  
"Omigod." Cesia practically shrieked. "Y-your highness.did you make all of this?" she said, pointing to the huge box of food that she had opened.  
  
The Dragon Queen just smiled and instead said, "I want you to take this food with you on your journey. The box is spelled so it'll seem lighter than it really is. It should last you your entire trip unless your trip is longer than we all think."  
  
"Wow." Cesia said, still shocked. "I can't believe it.thank you.now I don't have to live off the land." (A/N: Don't ask where I get this stuff. Just be ready to see more weird stuff)  
  
Raseleane just looked at Cesia funny before carefully and gently picking up the last package, then giving it to Cesia.  
  
Cesia gingerly took it. She glanced at it with a curious look on her face. She didn't like the look on the queen's face. Cesia slowly opened it, revealing a cute tiny little pigeon with there HUGE eyes. "Uh, your Majesty." she looked at the queen.  
  
But the Dragon Queen wasn't paying attention; she was too busy cooing over the bird. "Aww, Cesia, isn't it so cute? See, it loves you already."  
  
Cesia just stared at the queen and the bird, dumbfounded. Huh? What the heck. she thought to herself. "Um, your Majesty?" she called loudly.  
  
Raseleane looked up with a sheepish grin on her face. "Oh, sorry Cesia, sorta got carried away again." Then her face turned serious again. "Cesia, take this pigeon with you and please exchange mail with us whenever you can, preferably every week." She said the last part with a BIG smile on her face.  
  
Cesia sweatdropped and said, "Um...Sure, if I can..."  
  
Raseleane started clapping her hands. "YAY!!! Give us news when anything happens. We need to know what's going on or life here will be boring."  
  
Cesia facefaulted and started reassuring the queen. "But your highness, life here in Draqueen is never boring. How can you say life here is boring? Life here is so exciting, with Kai-stern coming and going, Ruwalk and Afleegi arguing, Rune killing Thatz over and over again whenever he tries to do something bad and.more stuff."  
  
"Anything with Rath?" The queen asked with twinkling eyes.  
  
"Er." Cesia blushed furiously as she stared at the floor. "Not to mention Rath whining about wanting to kill demons." She quickly added. "Happy now?" Cesia glared at the queen with a menacing look on her face, as if daring Raseleane to say anything against her.  
  
"Now I am." Raseleane said, grinning.  
  
Cesia silently groaned. Arg.why me?  
  
***10 min. later***  
  
Cesia snapped close her backpack that held all her stuff and slung it on her shoulder. She winced at the weight of all the things in there and tried her best to get it in a better position. "Augh!" Cesia yelped as her pack slipped from her shoulder and went thud! onto the ground, scaring the living life out of her.  
  
"Cesia?" Ruwalk's voice floated through the door. "You okay?"  
  
Yeah, I'm fine." Cesia strained through gritted teeth. "As fine as I could ever be!" Cesia's voice rose with every word she said, until she started crying.  
  
"Cesia?!" Ruwalk said in alarm. "What's wrong?" The door automatically opened and Ruwalk practically ran in, only to see the HUGE backpack on the ground with half its contents falling out and a crying Cesia sitting on the ground and leaning against the bed, crying her heart out. He sweatdropped and gently asked, "Cesia, what's wrong?"  
  
Cesia, her face in her arms, just shook her head. Her shoulders shook at every sob and Ruwalk couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Cesia, for whatever was wrong. Then he heard Cesia mumble something.  
  
"Cesia?" Ruwalk asked again, slowly. He cautiously walked to Cesia's side.  
  
Cesia lifted her head, her face tear-streaked and her eyes red. She sniffed again and carelessly brushed her tears away with the back of her hand before saying, "Nothing, nothing's wrong."  
  
Ruwalk, with hands on hips, "glared" at Cesia. "Yea right, then why were you crying like hell?"  
  
Cesia hung her head, letting her hair create a curtain around her head. Her shoulders started shaking again. When she looked up again, to Ruwalk's amazement, she was smiling! "It's not what you think." She said. "I'm just going to miss everyone. It's just so hard to leave everyone here."  
  
Ruwalk sighed in relief; at least it wasn't something bad. Then he patted Cesia on the back and told her, "Don't worry, everyone here's gonna miss you too." He paused, thinking of why he came, and remembered. "By the way, Sarazar is outside, at the front of the castle, in case you wanted to talk to her."  
  
"Ok." Cesia smiled as Ruwalk left the room. Once the footsteps disappeared she threw herself onto the bed and started crying again.  
  
A/N: Gah! Too much OOC in this section. Somehow, I know these people would never do this kind of stuff in the manga.  
  
*******  
  
Sarazar "sat"[6] at the edge of the fountain, examining something. Her head snapped up at the sound of Cesia' footsteps. "Hello Cesia. Did you want to talk to me?" she asked in her misty voice.  
  
Cesia nodded. Sarazar waited, and waited some more.  
  
"Cesia?" Sarazar asked again.  
  
"I'm fine." Cesia smiled weakly. "Just thinking of a good way to say goodbye."  
  
Sarazar smiled, somewhat uncertain and confused. "Cesia?" she asked, hesitantly. "Is this really 'goodbye', as you put it? You're making it sound like you're going to die or you're never going to see us again."  
  
Cesia seemed to relax at Sarazar's words. "Yea, I'm probably just over- reacting." She said, shrugging. Then she smiled. "But I just want to thank you again, for taking over my duties."  
  
"Oh, it's nothing." Sarazar said, nonchalantly. "You know I'd do anything to help you and the Dragon Tribe."  
  
Cesia nodded. "But still, thank you." She looked up at the twinkling stars in the dark night sky.  
  
"Cesia?" A voice called from behind her. Cesia turned to see Ruwalk walking toward her. "Oh, there you are!" Cesia nodded. Ruwalk went on. "By the way, Zoma's ready to go soon." Zoma appeared at Ruwalk's side.  
  
"Hello Sarazar." Zoma said politely. Sarazar smiled back to him in response.  
  
There was silence. Cesia started feeling uncomfortable. "Well!" she started in a false cheerful voice. "Zoma, we should get going about now." Zoma nodded.  
  
Cesia turned back to Ruwalk and Sarazar. She smiled hopefully before saying. "Thanks again Sarazar. Ruwalk, please tell the queen I will you contact you whenever I can." She stopped to take a breath. In a shaky voice, she said, "Good bye Ruwalk, good bye Sarazar."  
  
Ruwalk and Sarazar watched as Cesia and Zoma started walking out the gate. "Farewell, Cesia, Zoma." Sarazar whispered, as the two figures disappeared into the dawn.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author Notes: It's a bit too long, sorry. Anyway, sorry about all the little author notes stuck all over the prologue last time, there was a lot of stuff to say (I know, corny excuse). And you're probably wondering what all the little numbers that were stuck randomly in the fic were for. Well, as you remember, the first time I posted it, there were too many A/Ns, so I sorta followed VoicesOfInsanity's advice (thank you so much!!!!) and put little numbers were the A/Ns were. Here is what they mean.  
  
[1] Yea, yea, yea. I stole this from the book. It's just so funny. So I'm just giving credit to Mineko.  
  
[2] Around this point of the fic, you'll notice some familiar quotes. In case you're wondering, I also took some of these from the book. Sorry *shrugs*, but the quotes seem to fit into my fic *innocent look on face*.  
  
[3] Come on, leave me alone. There was a situation like this in Dragon Knights #3. And it was sorta like this one too, so I just put Afleegi's thought in there. So please don't sue me, it happens to be that I'm already broke. ^_^;; please I know what you are thinking, but it's not happening.  
  
[4] By the way, need to mention that this part is sorta based on the idea of the show Roswell (don't worry, I don't actually watch Roswell). But it's sorta based on the people's powers of locking and unlocking the doors. Remember, the people (dunno their names) held their hand over the door and there's that glow. And it's color-coded!!! When it's red, it's locked and when it's green, it's unlocked!!! Get it?!?!? Don't worry, I'm fine.. just sorta worried (and hyper!!!) about this final I have in half an hour (well, half an hour from now, the time I'm typing this)..but other than that.I'm fine!!!  
  
[5] I know that Rath is a demon (well, at least part yokai) and that most spells don't work on him, but you see, this spell is special and it works in my fic. Thank you very much *bows *.  
  
[6] I'm not sure if a ghost like Sarazar can "sit". So is she sitting or floating?  
  
That's about it for the A/Ns. If you have any questions, please im or email me at magic_night15@yahoo.com. And upcoming, more Rath (happy now, VoicesOfInsanity?)!!!!!!!  
  
Hope you liked the prologue. And please R & R!!!  
  
Ciao! 


	2. Chapter 1

Hello! Hope you liked the prologue. It might've been sorta messed up. ^_^;; Anyway, I edited and reposted the prologue, so it's all better, without all the A/Ns! ^_^ And please enjoy this chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: They all belong to Mineko Ohkami. Never ever will belong to me...*sob*...*starts running after Rath*....  
  
In The Dark  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Rath's eyes snapped open. Confused, he walked to the window. "What time is it?" he asked to himself in disbelief, looking up to the bright sun.  
  
Shaking his head, he glanced at his clock before turning to his closet. Finally, the time seem sink into his head.  
  
"NOON?!" Rath's droopy eyes snapped open. "How the hell did I wake up at noon?!" He frantically grabbed his clothes and ran into the nearest bathroom.  
  
Rath came out of the bathroom much more composed. "Maybe the nights with only two hours of sleep are finally taking effect." He said thoughtfully.  
  
As Rath walked back to his room, something popped into his head. "Is Rune up yet?" he wondered aloud, glancing at Rune's door. It's not like him to still be sleeping, he thought to himself. At this point, he would be yelling at Thatz to wake up.  
  
"Damn, this is going to be painful." Rath muttered under his breath before lightly pushing open Rune's door.  
  
He peered around the slightly open door. "Rune?" he whispered. He squinted his eyes, awaiting a chair to meet his head. But nothing came, but teeny tiny little snores in the background.  
  
Rune snores? Rath thought to himself in amazement. "Wow." He whispered. A funny look came over his face. He tried to stifle his laugh but ended up on the ground, rolling around and clutching his sides, laughing silently with tears running down his face.  
  
"Tintlet!" Rune suddenly cried.  
  
Rath automatically froze. "Rune?" he called again. No answer. Uh-oh. He thought. He's dreaming again. This can't be good. Rath looked around and grabbed the first thing that came within grabbing range, a porcelain vase.  
  
"Rune!" Rath yelled. "Wake up!" Being the overenthusiastic person he was, Rath held the vase over Rune's head; ready to drop it onto Rune's head in case he didn't wake up [1].  
  
"Hmm?" Rune twitched and turned his head. Rath did not take that as a good sign and promptly dropped the vase onto Rune's face, where it shattered into millions of pieces.  
  
"Huh? What the @#$&?!" Rune sat up and saw Rath standing over him. "Rath, what are you doing?" he asked in that disapproving voice of his.  
  
Rath sweatdropped and twisted his hands while saying, "Uh, nothing." Rune glared at him with a menacing look on his face, so Rath quickly added, "Nothing other waking you up! Hehe."  
  
Rune was shaking his head at Rath when he felt that throbbing pain in his head. Then he noticed that he was surrounded by shards of something, something that suspiciously resembled porcelain. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rath backing away slowly. Little by little, Rune pieced the things together, the pain in his head, that shards surrounding him, Rath backing away and the missing vase...the missing VASE?!?!  
  
"Rath?" Rune asked in a low voice, glaring at the poor boy.  
  
"I didn't do anything! I swear! It was an accident!" with that, Rath tore out of the room.  
  
With a start at Rath's sudden movement, Rune started running after Rath but immediately stung himself to death with the shards.  
  
Damn you Rath, Rune thought, clenching and unclenching his fists. I'll get you later.  
  
***COS***  
  
"Hey." Everybody's head at the table snapped up at the sound of Rath's voice. "What's for breakfast? I'm starving." He said, plopping down into a random seat, which so happened to be the Dragon Lord's seat.  
  
"Umm, Rath," Dragon Queen Raseleane said hesitantly, very hesitantly from beside him. "It's already lunchtime."  
  
Rath stared at her for a minute. "Ok."  
  
Suddenly Afleegi appeared with the Dragon Lord at his side. "Rath," Afleegi started sternly. "What are you doing in the Lord's chair?"  
  
In return, Rath wordlessly stood up and gave the chair to Lykouleon.  
  
The Dragon Lord sweatdropped and said, "It's ok Rath. You can sit there if you want to. I can just sit somewhere else."  
  
But Rath quietly shook his head and sat in the next seat. Then he was silent for the rest of lunch. Even though he wasn't as hungry as Thatz, he always ate a fair amount of food, but today, he barely picked at his fook.  
  
"Rath, aren't you hungry?" Cernozura glared at him reproachfully as she gathered everyone's plates.  
  
Rath sweatdropped and mumbled, "Not really."  
  
Cernozura glowered at Rath some more before walking away with his still full plate.  
  
Rath sat silently for a moment, obviously thinking about something important. "Where's Cesia?" he suddenly asked.  
  
Automatic silence. Lykouleon and his secretaries glanced at each other before looking back at Rath. Rath glared at them and held out his hands toward them as if asking, 'Well?'  
  
Finally the Dragon Lord spoke up, "Cesia is busy with a project right now so she can't join us at the moment."  
  
Rath glanced at each person for a moment before abruptly turning and walking away.  
  
"Rath!" Afleegi called, totally admonished.  
  
"It's ok Afleegi." The Dragon Lord said calmly. "It's better than seeing the reaction he's gonna give us when he finds out that Cesia is truly gone."  
  
"You're right, my Lord." Afleegi said grudgingly, still gazing after Rath.  
  
*******  
  
"WHERE THE HELL IS CESIA?!"  
  
For the second time that day, everybody's head at the dinner table snapped up.  
  
"Rath?" The Dragon Lord called.  
  
Rath suddenly burst theough the door. "Where is she?!" he asked, his face wild.  
  
"Rath." Lykouleon started before being cut off by Rath.  
  
"No! Don't talk to me that way anymore!" Rath shouted furiously. "Just give me the truth: where is Cesia?" his voice lowering to a dangerous low voice.  
  
The Dragon Lord looked at Rath directly in the eyes. He then sighed in resignation and revealed the truth to Rath, "Rath, she left yesterday night to search for her parents."  
  
Rath stared at everybody at the table. "She WHAT?!" He slammed his hands onto the table. "You let her?!" He opened his mouth to say more, then suddenly his eyes and facial expressions went dreamy and blank at he collapsed onto the ground. Raseleane stood behind him; her hands help up, glowing.  
  
"My Lord," she said, her eyes frightened. "I didn't mean to, it was to calm him down."  
  
Lykouleon just looked at the lifeless body [2] on the floor before turning back to Raseleane. "It's ok Raseleane." He reassured the Dragon Queen. "At least it stopped him from killing everyone." He smiled despite the worried look on his face. "It'll be a while before he does get around killing us."  
  
Everybody looked at each other, worried.  
  
*******  
  
"Huh?" Thatz looked down the hall in confusion. "Yo Rune! What's going on?"  
  
Rune, who was walking beside him back to their rooms, had a look of total confusion on his face. He shook his head in bewilderment and said, "I don't know. Looks like something big has happened."  
  
"Dragon Knight Rune! Dragon Knight Thatz!" A Dragon Officer called them. "There you are!" He ran over, huffing and puffing.  
  
"Hello Feldon[3]." Rune greeted the poor officer. "Would you please tell us what is going on?" he inquired.  
  
Feldon huffed and puffed some more before talking again. "It's Rath." He gasped. "Something must've happened because we..." he stopped again, catching his breath, "We had to lock him in his room and guard him from the outside." He finished.  
  
Rune frowned, thinking. Then he asked, "Where is he now?"  
  
Feldon pointed to Rath's door. "In there." He announced, his finger shaking a bit.  
  
Rune frowned some more before walking up to the door and opening it. Frowning even more, he walked into the room.  
  
The Dragon Officer's jaw automatically dropped down to the floor. "I c- could've sworn it was locked." He stuttered out.  
  
Thatz casually leaned on the doorframe as he asked, "Rune, is he in there?"  
  
Rune's voice sounded muffled as he answered. "No. Where is he Feldon?"  
  
Feldon sweatdropped and desperately stalled for time. "Uh.um..."  
  
Thatz looked suspiciously around the door into the room. "Hey Rune! What are you doing in there? He's most likely not there."  
  
There was a pause before Rune responded in a strange voice, "I never knew Rath was a crossdresser."  
  
"WHAT?!" Thatz and Feldon ran into the room to see this huge hole in the wall that was connecting his room to the bathroom that Rath and another random Dragon Officer shared and all these skirts and dressed scattered around the floor. This was a little too much for Feldon, who promptly fainted and crumpled to the clothe-strewn floor.  
  
After staring at the hole in the wall and the clothes on the floor, a light bulb went Ding! in Rune's head and the connection began to form. "I got it!" he cried.  
  
"Huh?" Thatz looked at Rune worried. Shouldn't he be thinking about Rath's safety of mind?  
  
*******  
  
The Dragon Lord was walking toward his office when he felt the fast moving aura. He turned sharply and calmly asked, "Rath, where are you going?"  
  
Suddenly Rath stood before him. It took all of Lykouleon's self-control to stop himself from jumping off the nearest cliff. Then he burst out laughing. "Rath.What the...*gasp...what happened?" The Dragon Lord chocked out, unable to stop laughing at the horrible, yet hilarious scene before him.  
  
Suddenly Afleegi came up behind Lykouleon. "My Lord, what is so funny?" he asked disapprovingly, not noticing Rath yet. Finally he too saw the horrible vision. His hand automatically flew to his heart. "Omigod," he said in horror. "Is that you Rath?" he asked, waiting for the dreaded answer.  
  
Before Rath could answer, two voices started calling his name. "Rath! Yo Rath!" Rune and Thatz stopped beside him. Then they too started laughing at him as Afleegi shook his head, saying, "What a shame."  
  
Rath scowled. Now everyone saw the disheveled wig on his head, the frilly pink dress he wore with all the lacy stuff on it, the 5-inch heels that he kept stumbling over and his sense of putting on make-up.  
  
Before Rath could answer, Rune jumped in.  
  
"Lemme guess, you stole the queen's old dress and her high heel shoes."  
  
"Uh-huh." Rath answered, annoyed.  
  
"Lemme guess again, you secretly took the queen's old worn-out make-up from the trash."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"And obviously since Cesia is gone, you've decided to go after her."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"So you used your sword to blow a hole in the wall."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"And you disguised yourself as a girl, hoping no one would recognize you."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"And you left through the bathroom that connected your room to the next room."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Then you tried to sneak out."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"But the Dragon Lord caught you."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Cuz you love Cesia."  
  
"Uh-huuuh? What?" Rath stared at Rune. "What kind of guess is that?" he shouted furiously.  
  
"Oh! So you do love her!" Thatz said triumphantly.  
  
Rath's mouth opened and closed a couple of times as he stared at everyone, speechless. "How was I suppose to know Rune was gonna say that?" he shouted. "I was just randomly saying 'Uh-huh'!"  
  
Finally the Dragon Lord spoke up, a smile still on his face, "Rune, Thatz, leave him a lone now. I'm sure he's going to feel even worse in a minute." Then he turned back to Rath. He took a deep breath and announced, "Sorry Rath, but no demon hunting for you for the next two months."  
  
Rath automatically opened his mouth to protest but the Dragon Lord's eyebrow was up and he warned, "Remember what I said before."  
  
Rath's mouth closed and he glared at Lykouleon for a few moments before turning away from everyone.  
  
The Dragon Lord smiled again. He turned to Afleegi. "Afleegi, please ask Cernozura to clean up...*pause*...Rath [4] here."  
  
Afleegi nodded and walked away, still shaking his head.  
  
Once Afleegi was out of hearing-range, Rath's head snapped up. "Can I go hunt demons?"  
  
The Dragon Lord automatically responded, "No."  
  
"Can I go hunt demons?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Can I go hunt demons?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Can I go hunt demons?"  
  
"No."  
  
And that's how it went for the next few minutes until Rath was dragged away for a bath.  
  
***2 hours later***  
  
The door to the Dragon Lord's office opened. Lykouleon slowly looked up from his papers and...  
  
"Can I hunt for demons?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Can I hunt for demons?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Can I hunt for demons?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Can I not hunt for demons?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Dammit."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author Notes: Hmmm, this took a bit longer than I thought. When I first planned it, it was suppose to be a lot longer, but I guess I'll just cut it into a couple of parts (Thanks, Mizura Volphen). ^_^ For the A/Ns, I guess I'm gonna keep putting little numbers all over the fic. There aren't as many in this chapter so you can sigh in relief.  
  
By the way, there might be a lot of OOCness in this chapter, but please just read it and everything, you know you love Rath and everyone else ^__^ *holds up poster and is wearing an oversized t-shirt that say 'GO RATH! WE LUV YOU VERY MUCH!'*!!!!!  
  
I'd like to also say sorry if I spazzed a little too much in this chapter (you know, at the parts where Rath goes 'Uh-huh' and when he keeps asking Lykouleon if he can go hunting for demons). It's suppose to add to the humor!!!!! By the way, if I said anything about this fic being angsty, I'm sorry!!! It doesn't seem to be turning out very dark or depressing ^_^;; ...maybe I should change the title...hey! If you have any ideas for a title please tell me!!! I don't really have a big imagination so I need some help.  
  
Oh yea, the A/Ns...I forgot...well, here they are!  
  
[1] Hmmm, there's a lot of OOC in Rath's character at this scene, sorta like Thatz's personality. Well, a bit sorry for that! ^_^;;  
  
[2] You know that when I said lifeless, I didn't mean he was dead right? Cuz I only used it to describe him at that scene. I can't kill him off already, just at the beginning of the fic!!!  
  
[3] I have to give credit to my friend Mizura Volphen for giving me the name Feldon for the Dragon Officer!!! If it weren't for her, I would have to use the name...wait, what name? I hadn't even thought up of a name to use *sweatdrop*...I would probably have to use Hugh, but there is no Dragon Officer named Hugh, just go read Dragon Knights #2!  
  
[4] You know what? Rath's new name should be Rathina! J/K! LOL! Well, he is supposed to look like a girl right now, a really weird girl! *laughs hysterically* Sorry, but this somehow cracks me up. Anyway, about Rathina *giggle*, sorry, but don't get any ideas from it. It was just a joke I made up.  
  
That's about it for the A/Ns. Hmmm, did I forget anything? I don't think so...now be good little boys and girls and run off and review the fic! You know you love it *wink, wink*!  
  
Mizura Volphen: Thanks for all the help! Really appreciate it! Hmmm, by the way, got a tiny bit of inspiration for the AU IY fic that I'm sorta working on. But I've run out of ideas! Help!  
  
VoicesOfInsanity: Thanks too! Hope you're happy with all the Rath scenes in this chapter. Don't be disappointed, he really isn't a crossdresser, he only did it to get out of the castle.  
  
Jasmine and Angela (You both know who you are): My dear hacker friends. Thanks to you too! And Jasmine, are you sure this fic is that great? I really dunno, I just thought it up some really random time, I can't remember. By the way, work on For All of Eternity! I wanna see what happens! (Read her fic, her pen name is goldentwilight, and it's really good)  
  
I guess that's it for now, just one question, anyone know what color Bierrez's eyes are suppose to be?  
  
Anyway, please R & R! You know you love reviewing!  
  
Ciao! 


	3. Chapter 2

Hey! I just have one question: why does ff.net not do any italic or bold or underlined words? It gets really really annoying since my fic needs to emphasis of italics and everything. Not to mention I don't know how to do htmls...  
  
Hmm...anyway, have fun reading this and go off and download this one song called Voyage by Ayumi Hamasaki cuz it's very pretty!!! I'm fine...just sorta sore but also very excited!!! Cuz I'm going to Cedar Point tomorrow (it's currently Friday right now as I type this up but just to let you know I'm probably gonna post this up next week, after I got to Cedar Point).  
  
Please enjoy this chapter! Sorta weird though...but you still know you're gonna love it. ^_^  
  
Anyway, this is me the day after I got back from Cedar Point. You know the first time I posted it, it sorta was screwed up so I'm reposting it. Terribly sorry for the mess up. *glares at comp and ff.net*  
  
Disclaimer: Like hell yea I'll ever be able to own Dragon Knights. If I did own Dragon Knights I'd probably be making big bucks and living in a mansion and reading all the Dragon Knights books there are...but right now I'm gonna be borrowing them for my fic so Dragon Knights obviously belongs to Mineko Ohkami...*notices Rath is backing away* hey Rath, get back here!!! *chases after Rath*  
  
In The Dark  
  
Chapter 2  
  
"Zoma, watch out!" Cesia yelled as she hit the snake yokai with a small burst of her power.  
  
Zoma had already leapt to Cesia's side. "Boy! That was close!" he gave a sigh of relief.  
  
Cesia smiled and glanced up at the sky. "Wow!" she commented. "It's getting dark. We should start camp."  
  
It was completely silent as Zoma started a campfire and Cesia began dinner. It was still quiet for the occasional cackle of the fire during dinner. At last, after dinner, Cesia spoke up.  
  
"Zoma, I'll be on watch first." She offered, smiling. "Go ahead and sleep."  
  
Zoma nodded and curled up into a ball before falling off to sleep.  
  
Cesia wrapped herself in her own blanket and watched Zoma sleep as the smile on her face turned fake. Finally the façade disappeared and Cesia was softly weeping.  
  
When she looked back up, her face was dry and calm. Cesia stared into the fire as she recalled a memory that happened a long time ago...  
  
***FLASHBACK***  
  
"Cesia! Let me out!" an orange haired young man from a magical glowing barrier shouted furiously as he feverishly pounded on it.  
  
"I'm sorry Bierrez." Cesia whispered, a tear falling down her cheek as the shouting in the background came closer.  
  
Bierrez stared at her, dumbfounded.  
  
Cesia stepped back and let the Dragon Officers take over the situation.  
  
"Bierrez!" Rath snarled, lunging toward the surprised yokai on the floor. Rune and Thatz each grabbed one of his arms to stop him from killing Bierrez.  
  
Bierrez, flabbergasted, let Ruwalk and Afleegi push him to the ground with a flashing knife at his throat.  
  
/Cesia/ Bierrez sent a mental thought to Cesia [1]. /What are you doing? /  
  
Then everything seemed to stop, everything including the Dragon Officers, like time had stopped except for Cesia and Bierrez.  
  
Cesia stood in front of Bierrez, looking at the spot on the wall above his head, with tears silently streaming down her cheeks.  
  
Bierrez looked at her intently, not sure as to what her answer would be.  
  
After what seemed to be eternity, Cesia finally responded. /I'm doing what I think is right. /  
  
Bierrez gaped at her but she wasn't done. /Like you're doing what you think is right, like right now, for Nadil's army. /  
  
Bierrez stared at her some more. /I'm only doing what I think is best for you. / He mentally thought to her.  
  
Cesia brought herself to look at Bierrez's face. She looked deep into his eyes before she responded back to him. /If you wanted to do what was best for me, you wouldn't be helping Nadil and his army. /  
  
Bierrez looked away from her, not having the strength to protest or argue with her.  
  
Then time seemed to speed up again. The people started bustling around again, noises in the background rose up again.  
  
"Let go of me!" Rath yelled, furiously struggling to get out of Rune and Thatz's secure grip.  
  
Cesia slowly backed away from Bierrez. "I'm sorry." She repeated. Suddenly she whirled around and ran out of the room with one lingering message from Bierrez in her head. /Take care. /  
  
She ran even faster away from the room. Finally when she was far away enough, she collapsed onto the ground and started crying again.  
  
"Cesia?" a small voice called.  
  
Cesia's head turned around. "Your majesty." She said dully to the Dragon Queen.  
  
Raseleane walked over to Cesia's side. "Don't worry." She started. "They won't kill Bierrez."  
  
"Wow, that's reassuring." Cesia said sarcastically. "I'd just love to be stalked by Bierrez for the rest of my life."  
  
The Dragon Queen sighed. "Cesia." She said. "He truly cares about you. I can tell." No response. Raseleane could tell this was not the time to tell or convince Cesia anything. "Anyway," Raseleane started walking toward the door. "You probably won't see Bierrez for quite a while anymore. Good night. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she walked out of the room, closing the door with a quiet click.  
  
Cesia was left by herself in the big room. She stared at the wall in a sort of trance. "I'll miss you too Bierrez." She whispered.  
  
***END OF FLASHBACK***  
  
The fire cackled as the wood burned. Cesia frowned and looked at the sky again. "Zoma." She quietly called. The little yokai didn't answer, but instead turned away from her.  
  
Cesia leaned back and stared into the landscape. She had a gentle smile on her face as she watched her friend peacefully sleep. 'Hmm,' she thought. 'Somehow I wish my life would be like that; nothing bad, no one stalking or kidnapping me, just a peaceful life.'  
  
Cesia hopelessly shook her head. "No way." She told herself out loud.  
  
She looked even further out into the distance, into the dawn and the rising sun. "So the journey finally begins."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author Notes: So...how did you people like this chapter? Wasn't it so confusing? ^_^  
  
I'll let you guys figure out what was happening in the flashback first before I say anything else.  
  
[1] ^_^ Sorry I didn't put this in the fic so you guys would know this when you read it. But now you probably have to go back and read it. SORRY!!!!! Anyway, I used this one special power that yokai have. It's sorta that one thing in X-men when the people send telekinetic messages to themselves. ^_^ Yea aren't I such a dork? So basically, they send mental thoughts to each other. I'm not sure if you get the idea but if you don't then just im me or email me and I'll describe it better to you.  
  
Now that I hope you get it, I just wanna point some things out now. In my fic, RATH DID NOT KILL BIERREZ. I HOPE YOU GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEADS CUZ THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! Once again, RATH DID NOT KILL BIERREZ (at least not in my fic).  
  
Another thing is that the Dragon Tribe does not kill Bierrez either!!! Please understand that my fic is somewhat different from the book so all this is to help you not get confused with the book.  
  
Anyway...I'm pretty sure that I had something else to tell you guys...oh well...but I'm too lazy, so I guess I'll just post this up before I go off and do whatever it is I do around the house...  
  
Mizura Volphen: Awww, poor you!!! Ff.net is just mean. I mean, I go on during the afternoon and it never lets me go onto my account or read your fics. _;; It's just annoying. Anyway thanks! Omg! I totally loved that one fic by Eternity and Midnight!!! Thanks for telling me to read it!!! Also, it's ok for the name, as long as it is _not_ the teacher's name, it's fine...but I don't know what I would do if you didn't at least give me a name. Thanks so much! Love ya!  
  
VoicesOfInsanity: LOL! Me too! I really liked that part too! I still have no idea where I got the idea. You know, I just think up of random stuff so yea...and sorry if this chapter is a little too short! I sorta ran out of inspiration *makes face at the comp*. That just sucks for me. Anyway, thanks you sooooo much for being my beta for the first chapter of my other fic!!!! Love ya lots too!!! (Sorry if there are some grammar mistakes in this chapter too but please point them out and I'll repost this chapter up)  
  
Anyway, please R & R!!! Will love ya lots too!!! Ciao!! (Oh yea, remember when I said I would probably post this up next week? I think I'm gonna post it up in a sec) 


	4. Chapter 3

Hi-hi! How's it going? Was the last chapter too boring or too confusing to you? I think it was.  If you have any questions about that though you can always email me at magic_night15@yahoo.com.  Pretty much available………unless you sorta engross me back into the new Dragon Knights book and Spirited Away.  ^_^  By then, I'm already gone………far away………into a distant land………j/k

Be prepared to be reading a really extremely short chapter.  I'm so sorry but it seems as if I sorta drowned in the pain of braces.  My teeth hurt so much *grimaces in pain*.  And uh, sorry but I'm not that great with 'battle scenes' so if it sucks………I'll go jump off a cliff………I think………and I'll make it up with an extra weird chapter………if I feel like moving………

Disclaimer: Umm, must I do this? It's just gonna kill me! Fine, the Dragon Knights characters and I guess part of the plot belong to Mineko Ohkami.  But Rath is all mine! *police come and hold out handcuffs* *run away screaming, "I'LL NEVER GIVE UP RATH! LEAVE ME ALONE!"* Fine, just let me pretend I own Rath for at least just two seconds………no? You're mean!

In The Dark

Chapter 3

Recap: Cesia went to the Dragon Lord, Lykouleon and asked him to let her to go for her parents.  He agrees to it.  To prevent Rath from finding out till too late he casts a sleeping spell on him.  Rath finds out a bit later and begs to go find Cesia and hunt yokai, but the Dragon Lord won't let him.  Meanwhile Cesia is having a *ton* of fun out there in the wilderness ^_^

***One Year Later***

Rath's worried red eyes looked out the window as he stared out into Draqueen.  'Where are you Cesia?' he thought anxiously.

Suddenly there was a loud boom in the distance, just beyond the Dragon Lord's magical shield.  All thoughts of Cesia slowly disappeared to the back of his mind along with Rune, Thatz and Draqueen.  "Yokai!" Rath snarled once he realized what was out there.  Then his eyes narrowed.  From the smoke in the air, Rath could tell that the Dragon Officers and the yokai have been at it for a while.

Rath sighed in a resigned sort of way.  No way in ten million years would anyone in Draqueen tell him where to find yokai, let alone _let_ him fight yokai, so why expect anything now?

He shook his head, as if to shake off all thoughts from his mind. Rath took the huge Dragon Sword from the wall as he also grabbed the totally oblivious Fire by the tail.

"What the hell are you doing Rath?" the furious Fire threw up multiple cue cards in rapid succession.

Rath didn't bother to answer until he ran down to the hall where he was sure no one was there.  "Shh………" Rath held a long, slender finger up to his lips.  "Sorry Fire.  To make a long story short, basically we have no time to talk cuz we've got places to go, things to do and yokai ass to kick."

Fire looked even more alarmed as Rath started racing down the hall again.  "At least let go of my tail!!!" Fire threw up a huge cue card, bolded with italics and underlined, into Rath's face.

"I will soon enough!" Rath yelled down to Fire.  "Just give me a little time!!!"

Rath abruptly screeched to a stop.  As he looked to the left, then looked to the right, Fire carefully extracted his tail from Rath's grasp and not gently clambered over his arm to his shoulder.

"Fire!" Rath admonished.  Fire just looked at Rath in some satisfied air.  Rath glared at Fire for a moment before going back to tiptoeing down the hall.

Fire enjoyed the view from Rath's head but something was bothering him.  "Why didn't you dress in drag again, like last time?" Fire threw another cue card down into Rath's face.

"FIRE!" Rath yelled, really really _really_ pissed now.  "What the hell? Just leave me alone until we find the damn yokai!"  Then he noticed what Fire had meant to ask him.  Rath's face turned into a tomato, just minus the hair ^_^ (j/k).  "I'll get you after this." he furiously whispered to Fire.

Fire gave an audible gulp.  When Rath looked away, he climbed onto his head and he nestled into Rath's hair and start sleeping.

Rath didn't know what was going on, on top of his head but he did seem to notice that it was getting hard moving around really fast without knocking Fire off his head.

Rath finally stopped when he was standing outside at the edge of the forest partly surrounding the castle.  He tentatively started walking through it.  As he went closer to the barrier, Rath could hear a multitude of voices shouting and yelling.

Rath unexpectedly stopped and Fire tumbled down from Rath's head.  Fire looked like he was about to bust but Rath just ran off towards the fighting.

Suddenly Rath burst through the bushes to see a glowing barrier separating the horde of yokai and the stubborn and filthy looking Dragon Officers

"Rath!" Rune called from behind him, the transformed water dragon following him.  "Where is Fire?" he asked.

"HERE!"  An index card fell down from a random tree.  Then down came Fire, also transformed.

"Rath?" Ruwalk came up from the other side of him, his sword drawn.

"Ruwalk, what's going on?" Rath asked, looking around.

"Yokai." Ruwalk answered grimly.  "Even though they haven't been able to get across the Dragon Lord's barrier they can make a lot of racket."

"RATH!" Afleegi's voice rang across the opening.  "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"Hey Rath! Did you bring any food?" (Guess who?)

Then Rath spoke up, a thoughtful look on his face.  "The aura of the yokai feel familiar."

Everyone shut up.  Afleegi looked especially concerned.  "Really? From where?"

Rath frowned, concentrating on where he felt it before.  A light bulb went off and Rath snapped his fingers once he remembered.  "I don't think you've felt their aura before………but I know that Rune has."

Rune too frowned.  "Rath, you sure? I don't really remember………" Then the look of confusion on his face disappeared and his face hardened.  "Of course………"

Everyone else had the bewildered look on their faces.  "Rath! Rune!" Afleegi had a pretty alarmed look on his face.  "What is it?!"

Rath turned to him.  "The Dragon Lord fought with this demon head-on."

The moment of truth dawned to Ruwalk and Afleegi.  But Thatz………well, Thatz was another story.  "Huh?" he looked around.  "What the heck?"

Everyone except Rath facefaulted.  Rath just stared at his face very carefully and slowly waved a hand in front of it.

Thatz quickly swatted Rath's hand away.  "What are you doing?!"

Rath winked and said in a cheerful voice, "I'm your new psychiatrist! Just checking if you are healthy or not."

Afleegi slowly stepped into the conversation.  "Sorry to bust your bubble Rath, but Thatz already has a psychiatrist.  Whenever someone comes to the castle we assign them a special doctor in case something happens."

Rath looked horrified.  "What the hell? Who's my psychiatrist then?" he quickly asked.

Before Afleegi could answer Thatz jumped into Rath's face.  "Wait!" he yelled, jumping up and down.  "Is it Nadil then?" he demanded to know.

"Yes." Rune said, a grim look on his face.  "I never want to see him ever again."

Suddenly Rath's voice piped up again.  "So can I go kill them now?"

"NO!" the angry faces of Afleegi, Rune, Ruwalk and Thatz popped into his face.

Rath sweatdropped and cowered back down to his own little dusty corner.  "Hehe, I was just wondering………no need to get so angry………"

Suddenly the yokai on the other side of the barrier started howling and chanting a weird 'song'.  Everyone but Rune and Rath covered their ears in agony.

"What's wrong?" Rune asked, looking around.

Afleegi grimaced.  "The sound.  It's hurting our ears."

"Why can't we hear it then?" Rath asked, genuinely curious.  "It's just an annoying little buzz to the ear, it's not hurting us………well, at least not very much………" he added.

Thatz sorta glared at Rath and Rune.  Before he could say anything, Afleegi said, "Well, it must be that you two are somewhat immune to it."  When Rath looked at him confused, Afleegi quickly added, "Probably because you are used to fighting yokai and Rune is an elf."

The Dragon Officers slowly backed away from the barrier, shaking their heads in agony.  Unable to hold it all in, Rath grabbed the hilt of the Dragon Sword and it smoothly came sliding out.  Holding the sword in both hands, Rath leapt toward to yokai, raising the Dragon Sword to cut them up.

The yokai turned around and scurried away, but there was another surprise.  Fire slowly lowered himself from the space above them to the area before them.  Little puffs of gray smoke appeared whenever he took a breath, scaring the yokai into turning back to the barrier.

But Rath was waiting for them.  Most of the yokai were dead before they realized that they had body parts missing and the fact that they were dead.  The rest of the yokai turned right and left, trying to escape through the forest trees, but then a circle of flames surrounded all of the remaining yokai.  The circle of flames gradually became smaller and smaller, limiting the space that the yokai had.

Suddenly, they started howling and cursing over the cackle of fire burning grass and branches.

"Shydeman! What is the meaning of this?!"

"Shyrendora, help us!!!"

"NADIL! AREN'T WE YOUR MOST LOYAL SUBJECTS?! ISN'T THAT WHY WE ARE SUPPOSE TO BE HERE?! THEN WHY ARE WE ABOUT TO DIE?"

There were other complaints, but Afleegi was troubled by the curse towards Nadil.  What did it mean? But now it was a bit late for anything.  The yokai were engulfed by the bright orange flames of fire.

When the yokai were all gone, Afleegi turned back to Rath, with a grim look on his face.  "Rath," He started in a menacing voice.  "What was the meaning of that?"

Rath merely glanced at Afleegi before he started the walk back to the castle.

"Rath!" Afleegi yelled.  "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to sleep!!!" was the faint reply from far away.

"Afleegi." Ruwalk came up to him.  "Shouldn't we go tell the Lord about the yokai attack?"

"Yea………" Afleegi frowned, staring in the direction that Rath went in.  "Let's go now."

*******

"Yes, they were from Nadil's army." Afleegi told the Dragon Lord Lykouleon.

"Hmm………" Lykouleon frowned.  "But isn't it lead by yokai Shydeman and Shyrendora?"

"I guess they are and were………" Afleegi replied.

"Were?" Ruwalk and the Dragon Lord asked in unison.  "What do you mean were?" the Lykouleon asked, his brows knitted.

Afleegi's forehead furrowed as he tried his best to remember.  "Oh yes!" he snapped his fingers.  "It was when Rath was burning all of them when one of the yokai started screaming to Nadil about how he was leaving them to die when they were his most loyal servants."

Lykouleon frowned.  "What is that suppose to mean? That Nadil is back again?"

"Seems like it." Afleegi looked especially concerned as he said it.

There was a long pause before Ruwalk suddenly spoke up.  "But are you _absolutely_ certain that Nadil is back again?" Lykouleon looked at him.  "I mean," Ruwalk continued.  "What if we are just worrying ourselves over nothing?"

Afleegi looked slightly abashed.  "I guess that could be true………" he trailed off.

"But we still have keep an eye out for Nadil.  Just in case." The Dragon Lord finished Afleegi's sentence.

The White and the Yellow Dragon Officer silently nodded as the Dragon Lord stared out the window towards Nadil's old castle.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Author Notes: Hey.  Sorry if I haven't updated this in a really long time *groan*.  Here's my huge explanation.  You see, I just got back from this camp in Chicago (which was 3 weeks long and they were cramming an entire year of Algebra into it.  I swear, I never wanna see anything that has to do with math anymore.).  And the things up before the chapter, I sorta typed up before I left………so it might seem a bit out of date (for instance, the braces, I got them a _long_ time ago).  If it sucks a bit………probably cuz I typed it at 3 in the morning when I should've been doing algebra.  *sigh* so that is my huge explanation.  I hope none of you people are too mad.  Cuz I'm terribly sorry!!!! Not to mention I miss all my camp friends *sob, sob*

Ok, like I said, really sorry if this is a short chapter compared to any of my others.  And this A/N might also be short too………cuz I have no A/Ns in the chapter………^_^ that I am grateful for………

Another thing regarding the fic, the characters might seem a bit OOC but like before, it might've been because I was working on it at 3 in the morning and I was also currently betaing one of my friend's Sailor Moon fics (and I might've had their character in my mind as I was working on this). *sigh* but it's great to be home again………it's a shame though………cuz camp had great internet connection………and there are two little babies at my house………and two toddlers………*shudders* omg, I think I wanna go back to camp………but of course………there was that mouse in our room………eh………mouse?! Holy shit………*jumps onto bed and starts screaming head off*………SOMEBODY SAVE ME!!!!

Oh btw, I might not be able to update as quickly (well, I never _was_ able to update quickly), but I'm working on a bunch of songfics/one-shots………hope you're happy with those………almost done with one of them………

Er………before I go entirely crazy (I'M STILL VERY SORRY FOR THAT ONE CRAZY REVIEW ABOUT THE MOUSE MIZURA AND CEL!!!)………I'll go find some mousetraps and somehow get rid of the rodents in my/my roommate's dorm………wait I don't need to………I'M HOME!!!!! Ok, before I really _do_ go crazy, I'll leave a few words before I go to the asylum………

Please R & R!!! I miss all my friends so please make me feel better!!

But if you don't review, I hope you enjoyed this chapter (most likely not cuz this chapter really does suck).

Hmm………reviewing will help me mood *hint hint*

Ciao!


	5. Chapter 4

Hola! I am so back! Finally found some time to work on ficcy *happy!!*. Anyway, terribly sorry for not updating *sniff*. Dun worry, I'm sad too :- (  
  
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Zip, nothing, nada! All the Dragon Knights characters and possibly the plot belong to Mineko Ohkami. ^_^;; hehe...*secretly grabs Rath* fly like the wind!!! *runs off, still hanging onto Rath* *runs into the wall* ow...X_X...ok...nvm...I won't run off with Rath again *hands him back to Mineko*  
  
In The Dark  
  
Chapter 4  
  
The door slowly creaked open and a pair of fiery red eyes appeared.  
  
"Rath," The Dragon Lord Lykouleon started. "Is there something you want?"  
  
Rath nodded. "Can I speak to you privately?" he asked.  
  
Lykouleon gave him a nod and turned to Tetheus, who had been giving him a report on the water faeries. "Thank you Tetheus. Leave the report on your chair and I'll read the rest when I have time."  
  
Tetheus pursed his lips in a disapproving way, but he didn't argue. "Yes my Lord." And with that he put down a pile of papers onto his chair and walked out of the room, shutting the door with a soft 'Thud!'  
  
Once Tetheus' footsteps had disappeared down the hall the Dragon Lord turned to Rath with a curious look on his face. "What is it that you want to talk to me with Rath?"  
  
Rath hesitated for a moment. It had only been three days ever since the incident with the yokai from Nadil's Army, but Afleegi was still as pissed as he was three days ago. 'He seriously needs to take a chill pill.' Rath thought to himself.  
  
"Rath?" the Dragon Lord pressed when Rath didn't say anything for five minutes. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"Huh?" Rath jerked himself out of his little happy world with fluffy pink little bunnies. "What?"  
  
Lykouleon frowned. "You know, maybe I should send you to your doctor to get a checkup. I swear, you're spacing out more and more these days."  
  
Rath paled a great deal. "My _DOCTOR_?! No freaking _WAY_!!!" he shouted.  
  
The Dragon Lord backed up a little. "Okay, no need to overreact. So...spill it. What do you want to talk to me about?"  
  
Rath opened his mouth to speak...and promptly closed it again.  
  
"Well..." The Dragon Lord waited.  
  
"I forgot." The proud Rath announced.  
  
Lykouleon facefaulted and with difficulty climbed back onto his chair. "H- how could you _forget_?" he asked in an exasperated voice.  
  
"Dunno." Rath shrugged. "Like this." to emphasize his point, Rath snapped his fingers and gave the Dragon Lord a huge innocent grin.  
  
Lykouleon sweatdropped and with a nervous chuckle he said, "Okay.I'm sure that you'll remember. Once you do, just tell me." And with that, he picked up the report that Tetheus had left on the chair and started reading it.  
  
Rath frowned. What did he forget? It was fresh on his mind only two seconds ago! "Hmm..." Rath wondered out loud.  
  
The Dragon Lord looked up. "Something wrong?" he mildly asked.  
  
"Of course!" Rath exclaimed as if he didn't notice the Dragon Lord at all.  
  
"Of course what?" Lykouleon looked confused.  
  
"Er," Rath looked at Lykouleon. "Can you do me a favor?" he asked in a sweet little boy's voice with the cute little boy look on his face. (A/N: awwww!!! *squeals* go Rathy-kun!!! *jumps up and down and does the little 'go Rath' routine* w00t!! ^_^ er...sorry you had to see that ^_^;;)  
  
"Uh...I guess...as long as I agree..." the Dragon Lord hesitated. Suddenly a horrible thought entered his mind. What if Rath wanted him to dress up in drag?! O_O the Dragon Lord's heart panicked and raced, praying that what Rath had to say wasn't what he thought Rath was going to say.  
  
Rath grinned and Lord Lykouleon felt his blood run cold. That was so not a smile that he liked. "Okay Rath, what do you want?"  
  
Now that smile had just completely disappeared. "Well you see..." he started. "I want a lot of things but those things aren't worth mentioning right now." (A/N: Hey! I stole that line from my friend ^_^...well I didn't steal it, really, I'm just borrowing it for now...but like to thank my friend goldentwilight for letting me use it from her HP ficlet.)  
  
The Dragon Lord raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Nothing." Rath quickly answered. "Right now, I want to go find Cesia."  
  
Lykouleon stared at Rath for a moment. "Why would you want to go look for Cesia?"  
  
Rath was slightly confused. Then his face darkened. "What do you mean why would I want to look for Cesia?! Wouldn't you?!" he shouted, taking the Dragon Lord's question the wroooong way.  
  
"Er," Lykouleon sweatdropped. "I didn't mean it _that_ way Rath. Don't get mad. I have my own reasons to ask my questions."  
  
Rath glowered at the Dragon Lord for a moment before he went on. "When was the last time you received mail from Cesia?" he demanded.  
  
The Dragon Lord sweatdropped again. "Sorry Rath." He apologized. "I don't get Cesia's mail. Raseleane does, and she rarely shows me what Cesia has written."  
  
"Why not?" Rath once again wanted to know.  
  
"Why Rath," the Dragon Lord started. "I don't know why!" he said exasperated with as these ridiculous questions that Rath was asking. "I have to respect Raseleane and Cesia's privacy. If they want to tell me something then they tell me. If they don't then they don't tell me. It's not like I would pry or anything." He explained.  
  
Rath frowned even harder than before. Suddenly he stormed out of the room in search of Raseleane.  
  
The Dragon Lord watched Rath run out of the room. Then he shrugged and shook his head. "Well, that's Rath for you."  
  
*******  
  
Raseleane was rereading Cesia's last letter for the millionth time. It was especially short, barely a page. Something was wrong. Why hadn't Cesia responded to her last letter?  
  
All of a sudden the door blew open. Raseleane automatically pulled out her sword and pointed it straight into the person's chest, right at the heart. (A/N: Stick 'em up!! Err, just kidding ^_^;;.).  
  
"Augh!!!" Rath yelped in surprise. "Your majesty, no need to kill _me_!!"  
  
"Oh it's just you Rath." Raseleane gave a huge sigh, thanking the gods above that it wasn't a yokai that had come to kill her. She sheathed her sword as Rath nervously fidgeted. "So, why are you here Rath?" she curiously inquired as he kept on fidgeting.  
  
Slightly startled that the queen wasn't mad at him, Rath looked up and suspiciously looked at Raseleane. "Are you _sure_ you aren't mad at me?" he warily asked.  
  
Giving him a gentle smile, Raseleane told, " Yes I am _sure_ Rath, so don't worry about getting your head chopped off." She joked.  
  
Rath nervously laughed, noticing that the queen was holding a piece of paper in her hands. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the piece of paper.  
  
Raseleane facefaulted at Rath's bluntness before she responded. "It's Cesia's last letter."  
  
Rath stared at it, almost slowly reaching for it.  
  
Raseleane went on, not noticing Rath's sudden silence. "I am so worried about her. She hasn't written in so long! This was her last letter, which came like half a year ago. I hope nothing bad happened to her. There must be a reasonable explanation as to why she isn't responding. It better not be because she hates us or something. *sniff* It would be very sad if it was. Huh? Rath?" Raseleane looked around. Rath was nowhere in sight. Then she shrugged. Rath probably just left or something, like always. Raseleane seated herself in front of her desk and started rereading Cesia's letter for the million and first time.  
  
*******  
  
BAM!  
  
The Dragon Lord looked up again. "Back so soon Rath?"  
  
Rath's furious crimson eyes stared down at the Dragon Lord's clear blue ones (A/N: I'm only guessing on what color the Dragon Lord's eyes are. If you know what color they are, because I'm colorblind and I somehow missed it on maybe a cover, please tell me and I'll fix it). "It's been half a year ever since Cesia has sent her last letter." Rath said in a quiet voice.  
  
The Dragon Lord was surprised. "Really?" he asked in amazement.  
  
Rath nodded. "Yes." His voice started rising. "How could you not know?" Rath fought to control his temper, but like always his temper got the better of him...again.  
  
"Rath calm down!!" Lykouleon backed away. Whenever Rath lost his temper, you did _not_ want to be near him when it happened. "I've tried asking Raseleane about it all the time but she refused to tell me anything!!"  
  
Rath for once stopped to think about what the Dragon Lord said. "Does that mean I can go look for her then?" he asked after a moment of standing deep in thought.  
  
"I guess..." Lord Lykouleon answered slowly, very slowly. "I don't see anything wrong with it."  
  
"Yes!" Rath cheered under his breath.  
  
"But," the Dragon Lord started. "You must go with Thatz and Rune."  
  
Rath stared at the Dragon Lord. "But why?" he asked, horrified.  
  
Lykouleon merely just raised his slender eyebrows at Rath, as if to ask him 'why not?'  
  
Rath scowled. "Fine." He grouched.  
  
"Good." The Dragon Lord smiled. "Now be a good boy and run over to Ruwalk and ask him to help you get ready to leave tomorrow morning."  
  
Rath scowled even deeper. "Whatever." He rolled his eyes and walked out of the room.  
  
The Dragon Lord just smiled as Rath slammed the door...again...  
  
*******  
  
"Hurry up Ruwalk." Rath begged as he paced back and forth.  
  
"I'm hurrying ok?" Ruwalk grumbled. "What's the hurry? You're leaving tomorrow _morning_, not tonight. And what's up with all this food?"  
  
Rath ignored Ruwalk as he walked up to the poor old guy and smacked him over the head. "Shh..." he cautioned as Ruwalk screamed in fury, well he tried to caution Ruwalk to be quiet before Ruwalk started chasing him down the hall.  
  
"Auuugh!!!!" Rath screamed as he ran from the crazed Ruwalk. "Lunatic on the loose!! Run for your life!!!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: Aww, poor Rathy-kun!!! *glomps Rath* don't worry Rath, you're safe here with me ^_^. *spots Ruwalk running towards Rath* uh-oh!! Run Rath!! Run for your life!!!  
  
Anyway, sorry if this chapter is a big too short!! It's just that I actually for inspiration!!! Well, for a Hellsing fic. So I'm trying to work on that and my songfic/one-shot Spirited Away fic that I'm trying to do and post up by Thanksgiving but bad me cuz I haven't even finished half of it. I'm also working on an original novel with a friend...well, we are _trying_ to work on it...but I'll definitely work a lot harder on the next chapter. Sorry about the OOCness in this chapter. Any questions, email me.  
  
R & R please! Ciao! 


	6. Chapter 5

Sorry for all these slow updates, but it was sort of end of semester and I had (and still have) a couple of tests to take, not to mention that I bombed SATs a little while ago. Man, life sucks, but since I haven't touched this is so long, I'll just make a slightly shorter update than my usual one, just cuz. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: Moi is just a poor little girl who doesn't own anything cuz Dragon Knights belongs to the wonderful Mineko Ohkami, thought she wants Rath very very much ^_^  
  
In The Dark  
  
Chapter 5  
  
[From Chapter 4]  
  
"Hurry up Ruwalk." Rath begged as he paced back and forth.  
  
"I'm hurrying ok?" Ruwalk grumbled. "What's the hurry? You're leaving tomorrow _morning_, not tonight. And what's up with all this food?"  
  
Rath ignored Ruwalk as he walked up to the poor old guy and smacked him over the head. "Shh," he cautioned as Ruwalk screamed in fury, or at least he tried to caution the Dragon Officer to be quiet before he started chasing him down the hall.  
  
"Auuugh!!!!" Rath screamed as he ran from the crazed Ruwalk. "Lunatic on the loose!! Run for your life!!!"  
  
*******  
  
Lord Lykouleon frowned as he heard a high-pitched scream ring out through the halls and into his office.  
  
"What the hell?" he wondered.  
  
Shaking his head, Lykouleon thought, 'Alfeegi probably got pissed off again.'  
  
Then the Dragon Lord walked out of his office in search for Ruwalk.  
  
Speeding down the hall was a terrified looking Rath being chased by a really pissed Ruwalk.  
  
"AIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!" screamed Rath as he came closer and closer to the surprised Dragon Lord.  
  
"RATH!!! I'LL GET YOU YET!!!" Ruwalk yelled down the hall.  
  
Suddenly Rath ducked behind the startled Dragon Lord. Ruwalk screeched to a stop right before Lykouleon.  
  
Before either of them could speak, Lykouleon mildly asked, "What's going on? I thought you two were getting ready for Rath's journey."  
  
By then, Ruwalk had actually breathed some air, and his face wasn't as red as it was when he was running down the hall. "Sorry Lykouleon," he apologized to the amused Dragon Lord, while glaring at Rath over his shoulder. "But apparently _someone_ doesn't realize how old some other people are."  
  
Lykouleon sighed before Rath could think up of a retort. "Rath, go finish packing yourself." He ordered. "I need to talk to Ruwalk."  
  
Rath pouted at the prospect of packing all by himself, but obediently walked off as Lykouleon and Ruwalk stepped into the office that the Dragon Lord had just left.  
  
Ruwalk shook his head at Rath's back. "It's getting so hard to talk to Rath these days." He commented to the Dragon Lord.  
  
Lykouleon nodded. "But it's probably because he's worried about Cesia. Remember, when Cesia left a year ago?"  
  
Ruwalk automatically closed his eyes and shook his head. "Dear Lord. I hope to never think about that ever again. Thank god for Raseleanne." Ruwalk clasped his hands together and looked up to the sky (or in this case, the ceiling). "If it weren't for the queen, there surely would've been manslaughter."  
  
The Dragon Lord shuddered. "Please," he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Never mention that again. It's too scary for the delicate ears of this castle."  
  
Ruwalk chuckled and gave the Lord a mock bow. "Yes, my Dear Lord." He sarcastically replied.  
  
Lykouleon walked around his desk to sit down in front of the Yellow Dragon Officer. "So," he gave Ruwalk a mischievous smile. "Ruwalk, how do you feel about running the castle again?"  
  
Ruwalk's mouth fell open. "No way." He shook his head as he slowly backed away from the Dragon Lord's desk like it was a yokai. "No freaking way."  
  
*******  
  
"Why are we doing this again?" Thatz grumbled as he hoisted his pack over his shoulder.  
  
Rune suddenly stopped what he was doing. He darted a glance to the amused Dragon Lord and his face flushed a deep red.  
  
Thatz continued on complaining, not noticing the death look on Rune's face.  
  
Rath and the Dragon Lord sweatdropped as Rune grabbed his pack and threw it onto Thatz's pighead.  
  
"THATZ!" he screamed. "YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE DRAGON LORD!! DON'T SAY THOSE KIND OF THINGS IN FRONT OF HIM!!"  
  
Thatz meanwhile was lying on the ground, pretty surprised by the impact of the heavy pack. He uneasily scramble to his feet like a drunken man, apparently not have taken in anything that Rune just screamed into his ear. He just stood there, holding his head like he was in pain as Rune kept on screaming. After shaking his head to clear out the pain, he looked at Rune with this goofy grin on his face.  
  
"So what were you saying again Rune?" Thatz asked innocently.  
  
Rune stopped short. His face turned from red to blue to green, and finally settling at purple. "THATZ, WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!"  
  
Thatz simply just scratched his head. "Hmm, let me think about that." He tilted his head one way. Then he tilted it the other way. "Nope!" he replied with a bright smile.  
  
Rune facefaulted while Rath and the Dragon Lord slowly back away from the two Dragon Knights. They could see that they weren't gonna leave anytime soon.  
  
But before Rune could start again, the Dragon Lord cut in. "Ah, Rune." He said with a slight sweatdrop. "Maybe we should go now. No need to kill Thatz before we leave."  
  
Rune was in the process of dumping the contents of his bag onto Thatz's head when he looked up. "Yes, my Lord." He bowed his head to the Dragon Lord and immediately put his pack over his shoulders, but not before shooting Thatz a menacing look.  
  
The Dragon Lord just shook his head and started for the front hall. They were just opening the doors when they heard -  
  
"MY LORD LYKOULEON!! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?!"  
  
The three Dragon Knights automatically sweatdropped and facefaulted at the sound of that voice. The Dragon Lord just sweatdropped and covered his face with a hand, muttering, "Why did he have to come _now_?"  
  
"My Lord!" A furious looking Alfeegi came power walking up to the group, glaring at them all. "You shouldn't be going anywhere!" he shouted at the lot. "Who said anyone could go anywhere anyway?! It's too dangerous!"  
  
During Alfeegi's entire speech, the four of them all cowered back into the tiny musty corners of the front hall. When he paused to take a breath, Rath spoke up in a tiny voice.  
  
"Alfeegi, if you are done yelling at us, then we must be going." With that, Rath hopped up and started walking out the door.  
  
Alfeegi frowned as Rune and Thatz cautiously followed the Fire Dragon Knight, keeping an eye on the pissed White Dragon Officer. He pursed his lips as they left, but made no move to stop them. However, when the Dragon Lord started to leave, Alfeegi jumped between Lykouleon and the open door to freedom.  
  
Lykouleon sighed. "Alfeegi, what are you doing now?"  
  
Alfeegi scowled and told the Dragon Lord, "The Dragon Knights can go and find Cesia, but my Lord cannot. You have a responsibility here. Ruwalk *insert snort here* will go running around with a bottle of rum in his hands and singing that one pirate song."  
  
"Pirate song?" Rath had poked his head back into the castle when he heard Alfeegi mention Ruwalk. "Sing it Alfeegi, sing it!"  
  
"Ooooooo! _THE_ pirate song?" Thatz's eyes were sparkling right behind Rath's head. "Yea yea! Sing it Alfeegi!"  
  
Rune looked like he was either a) gonna blow, b) cry or c) both, but neither of our beloved distracted Dragon Knights noticed that the other poor Dragon Knight was strained. Poor Rune.  
  
And guess who just happened to be passing along?  
  
Ruwalk! So now he must sing us _THE_ pirate song. And can you guess which pirate song?  
  
Yes, you've guessed right. THAT pirate song. THE pirate song, sung by yours truly, *Captain* Jack Sparrow. This poor, pitiful girl just thought she'd like to mention this and copyright it to our wonderful *Captain* Jack Sparrow before some other rich person decided they wanted to sue this deprived girl of all her money, and the rest of her sanity...well, if she has any left. Anyway, we all want to hear Ruwalk and Alfeegi sing a duet right?  
  
Well, maybe not a duet...just a Ruwalk solo...Alfeegi might go boom boom if he tried singing...^_^  
  
"Pirate song?" Ruwalk looked at all of them with this horrified look. "What are you going to do then? Take away my rum?"  
  
Alfeegi just glared at him. "Well, yea, if you are just gonna go around drunk and acting like a complete fool!"  
  
"Never mind that Alfeegi!" Thatz said with a wave of his hand. "Just sing the pirate song!"  
  
Alfeegi's looked like he was about to blow. "Ruwalk," he said in this shaking voice filled with rage. "Don't. I'm sure that my Lord doesn't especially feel like listening to you sing today."  
  
Lykouleon slightly sweatdropped. "It's okay Alfeegi. I don't mind." Turning to Ruwalk, he said. "Go ahead, Ruwalk. I think Thatz is going to burst with excitement."  
  
Under that nervous exterior face of the Dragon Lord, Ruwalk could see an evil grin, which would ensure all the blackmail info that his best friend would have. But on the other hand, Thatz was gonna be VERY happy.  
  
"Fine." Ruwalk snapped, giving in, making Alfeegi super super pissed, which in turn is making his face turn different colors (A/N: Oooo, colors of the rainbow!! Skittles ^^ j/k). "Let's see how it goes again..."  
  
"Drink up my hearties, yo ho! We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot Drink up me hearties yo ho! Yo ho yo ho! A pirate's life for me We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack! Drink up We're devils, we're black sheep, we're really bad eggs! Drink up me hearties yo ho! Yo ho yo ho! A pirate's life for me!"  
  
"W000000000000000000000T!" Thatz started screaming his head off, his eyes were sparkling with awe. "That was beautiful Ruwalk! ENCORE ENCORE ENCORE!!! SING IT AGAIN!!"  
  
Alfeegi, Lykouleon, Rath, Rune and Ruwalk all facefaulted.  
  
"THATZ!!!" They all shouted together. "SHUT UP!!!"  
  
The poor Earth Dragon Knight immediately cowered back into his musty old corner and pouted.  
  
Meanwhile, the Dragon Lord just looked like Nadil had come up and offered his head to him. Wonderful, yet very disgusting.  
  
"Ruwalk," he started, trying not to laugh. "Are you feeling any drunk right now?"  
  
Ruwalk just gave Lykouleon a look that would've peeled paint. Then he stalked off before anyone else could make fun of him.  
  
"Well," Alfeegi started. "Show's over! Come on! Go where you are suppose to go!"  
  
Rath skipped off to the door like a little kid, with Rune trudging after him. When they just got to the door, Thatz jumped up from his little corner and shouted, "Dudes! Wait up for me!"  
  
Alfeegi frowned again. "Milord..."  
  
Lykouleon, who had been watching the three Dragon Knights leave, turned to Alfeegi and smiled sadly. "Yes, I know Alfeegi." He said quietly. "Stop badgering me about it."  
  
The White Dragon Officer turned red before he stiffly nodded and walked away, leaving the Dragon Lord to himself.  
  
*******  
  
"Sarazar." Lykouleon softly called the ghost fortuneteller.  
  
There was a swirl of mist and Sarazar materialized in front of the Dragon Lord.  
  
"Yes, my Lord?" the spirit curiously inquired in a misty voice. "What brings you here?"  
  
Lykouleon smiled. "I just thought I'd like to get a reading on what's going on. Are you able to?"  
  
Sarazar bowed her head. "Yes, my Lord."  
  
The ghost fortuneteller closed her eyes as she raised her hands above the place on the table where she would See.  
  
The Dragon Lord patiently waited until Sarazar was done, and when she was, Sarazar leaned forward and looked into the parting fog.  
  
"Oh-no." Sarazar covered her mouth.  
  
"What, Sarazar?" Lykouleon started in alarm.  
  
But the fortuneteller didn't say anything else, just stared in horror.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Sorry, if that just ended really bad. I'm in a really bad mood right now. What a wonderful way to end the day. X_X  
  
Another disclaimer for the pirate song, which was _borrowed_ from Pirates of the Carribean...heh, don't ask about how I got it...  
  
And wow...what a horrible chapter -_-;; but please R & R for my sake. Thanks ^_^  
  
Btw, many thanks to VoicesOfInsanity for betaing this chapter for me. Much love! ^_^  
  
Ciao! 


	7. Interlude: Stay

Disclaimer: Rath plushie: $15. Dragon Knights Volume 17: $9.99. Dragon Knights Image Album: $10.95. "Borrowing" the Dragon Knights cast for an infinite amount of time and denying that they belong to Mineko Ohkami (even if they do): Priceless, please don't sue ;)

Warnings: Irrelevance to story from volume five/six. Shifting in the timeline of the plot. Horribly attempted dry humor.

In The Dark

Interlude: Stay

"Are you just going to leave?" she asked, her voice barely audible in the tense silence.

"...maybe." he answered gruffly, shrugging his slender shoulders before looking away from her intense gaze. "Why do you want to know?"

"Rath," she started gently. "They may not seem it, but Thatz and Rune are hurting. So is everyone else. Don't do this to them." She took a stop closer to him, her quick eyes aware of his every move.

He felt her move closer, but what could he do? He couldn't run away. "Stop." He croaked in a shaken voice. "Just stop."

She paused. She could feel the fear and anger rolling of him in heavy waves. What was he afraid of? Talking about himself? "Stop what, Rath?" she asked softly, taking another step towards him.

"Everything!" he burst out. "Stop! Get out of my head!" He stopped short and whipped his furious gaze towards her. "Why the hell are you even talking to me?"

"I'm not in your head, Rath." She answered, "We're all worried, you know we are. Why won't you let us help?" she beseeched with pleading eyes.

Rath turned away, almost ashamed. His shoulders slumped in defeat. He had nothing left to fight. "She's gone and there's no chance of her coming back. It could be ages before she comes back. _If_ she even comes back." He whispered, his face filled with despair. "What is there for me to do? Where is there left for me here? I need to leave."

She vigorously shook her head. "Rath, no." she protested. "This isn't what she would've wanted. This isn't what Cesia would've wanted. She's not gone because of you or me or anyone else here. She left because she had to." Hesitantly, she took a step closer. "Stay, Rath." She coaxed. "His majesty and I need you here. Thatz and Rune are going crazy, wondering what's wrong! Rath, don't leave."

He paused. There was nothing else for him to say. What was the use, anyway. "I'll think about it." He mumbled as he struggled to keep his facial expressions impassive.

Raseleanne's face relaxed as she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Rath." Her face broke out into a beautiful smile, Rath noticed. But not like Cesia's, he decided.

"Don't mention it." He responded his voice rough as he turned and walked towards the slightly ajar door. Turning slightly, he caught the queen's smile growing broader from the edge of his peripheral vision.

_I'll leave tonight_. He promised himself.

---

"Damn." He whispered to himself, frustrated. "Dammit!" Furious with himself, Rath slammed his fist into the wall.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to leave, he couldn't leave _them_, the people, everyone in this bedamned castle. Why? What was _wrong_ with him?

"Why?" He groaned. He used to hate everyone here, the whole lot of them. To him, they didn't matter; they were just there to torment him, to remind him of why he was still alive. But now, what were they to him? And more importantly, what was he to them?

---

"Rath?"

He frowned, his back still turned towards them. What did they want now?

"Rath? Rath? _Rath_, can't you hear us calling you?"

Sighing loudly, Rath finally turned. "Obviously." He answered dryly. "What do you want?"

"His Majesty wants to talk to you." Alfeegi snapped, annoyed at having someone ignore him so. "_Now_." He stressed when Rath made a move to walk away.

Sighing even louder this time, Rath stalked past Alfeegi. "I'm going I'm going!" he groused, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

You really couldn't tell who was more pissed; Rath or Alfeegi. But it didn't matter by the time they reached the Dragon Lord's personal office, because each looked like they were about to rip each other's heads' off for no apparent reason.

Lykouleon sighed for what seemed like the billionth time that day and gave them three options. "Stay in, shut up or get out. I'm working."

"Yes milord," both mumbled while still managing to maintain a murderous look on their faces. Alfeegi then stalked out of the office, but not before shooting Rath a look that clearly said _don't-piss-off-the-lord-or-I-will-literally-kill-you_ and casting a worried glance at Lykouleon.

When the door finally shut quietly behind Alfeegi, Lykouleon sighed heavily and pushed back from his desk to scrutinize Rath carefully, who in turn glared back at the Dragon Lord. But even Rath couldn't stand it after a few minutes of the tense staring contest, and squirmed a little before finally turning away from the Lord's clear, unwavering gaze.

"Is there a reason why you called for me?"

Lykouleon finally turned away to look back down at the load of reports on his desk. "Yes, there is Rath." He answered quietly.

When he didn't respond, Rath raised his eyebrows. "Then what is it?"

Then the Dragon Lord looked up again at Rath with a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his worried eyes. "Raseleanne talked to me earlier." He simply stated, still sustaining an unbroken connection with Rath's eyes.

Rath glared back, refusing to lose. "...And? What about it?"

The Dragon Lord merely just stared back, as if searching for an answer on Rath's face. When satisfied with what he saw, Lykouleon in the end was the one who looked away, back towards his documents. "Is there anything that you'd like to tell me?" he asked casually, obviously distracted.

Strangely pissed, Rath glowered some more at the Dragon Lord. "You suck." Rath snapped.

Lykouleon looked up again. "Oh?" He raised a delicate eyebrow at Rath. "How so?"

Scowling at the Dragon Lord, Rath answered, "_You_ were the one who called me. I make the goddamn effort to get here, while Alfeegi gets on my case over and over again and pisses me off _again_. And now, 'Oh, thanks Rath for coming, is there anything you wanna say?' is ALL I get? What was the point in calling me then!"

Sighing, Lykouleon looked a Rath's angry face for a long time. Resting the side of his face in the palm as he leaned on the desk, he asked, "Would it be okay if I just said I forgot what I was going to say?"

Rath gaped at the Dragon Lord, incredulous. "NO! Of course not! What the hell are you thinking!"

Lykouleon just shrugged. "It was okay the last fifteen million eight hundred twelve thousand nine hundred sixty seven times I said it."

Furious, Rath growled, "Shut up."

Lykouleon gave Rath a resigned smile and leaned back into his chair to carefully examine the young man standing in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak when...

"Shut up."

Rath proceeded to glare at the Lord as he was stared at with another risen eyebrow. "I didn't say anything," he'd heard Lykouleon say. Rath pressed his lips together tightly, to prevent himself from saying anything else stupid that he didn't mean and settled on staring at the wall behind the Lord's head.

Lykouleon looked away from Rath, towards to window. Neither said anything. Finally, Rath turned away and started walking away.

"Rath."

His hand rested on the doorknob, shaking. "What?" he grounded out through clenched teeth. He felt the slight pause before the Dragon Lord spoke.

"Stay." Lykouleon said, his voice soft. "We need you."

Rath felt himself stiffen. "That's what you think." He declared coldly, before walking out and slamming the door behind him. Once he was far enough down the hallway, Rath broke into a run.

_They might need me, but I don't need them, do I?_

----

"Say _what_!"

Kai-stern sprinted down the hallway, and burst into Lykouleon's office, only to see a pissed off Alfeegi and a cowering Ruwalk at his mercy. He frowned. "What's going on here?"

Suddenly it was deathly quiet. " 'What's going on here?' " Alfeegi repeated. " 'What's going on here!' " With each passing word, the white dragon officer's voice got louder and louder. "_This_ is what's going on!" Clearly pissed off, Alfeegi thrust a sheet of paper into Kai-stern's face.

His frown deepened. "Playing hide-and-seek with Rune and Thatz." He read aloud. "We'll be done in a few hours. Rath." He looked back at Alfeegi and Ruwalk. "Why in the world would they play _hide-and-seek_?"

Ruwalk shrugged and mouthed back, "Beats me."

Alfeegi just seemed to get even angrier. "How am I supposed to know?" he snapped. "We have to find them!"

Ruwalk couldn't resist himself. "Isn't that kind of obvious?" But of course he regretted those words when Alfeegi turned upon him with his all too famous pissed off face.

Kai-stern just sighed at the both of them. "I'll go look for Rune and Thatz then. Mind you," he warned. "I have to leave for another mission tomorrow, so make sure you guys get this settled if I don't."

Alfeegi looked absolutely delighted. "Of course, Kai-stern." He even managed to grace the blue dragon officer with a tiny smile before the door closed. He turned to look back at Ruwalk. "Tell his Majesty about this." He said quietly, before going back behind the desk to straighten up the papers.

Ruwalk nodded and too, silently slipped out of the room.

---

"What's going on?" Rune asked, the concern evident in his eyes.

Kai-stern sighed and thought sardonically to himself, _Those words sure are being said a lot today_. Shaking his head at himself, he turned back to the two dragon knights. "So Rath never talked to you guys about playing hide-and-seek with you guys?"

Both looked equally confused. "Noooo." Rune slowly dragged out the word, the wheels in his head turning.

"Why?" Thatz piped up. "Did he want to?"

Kai-stern chose to ignore Thatz at that moment. "Do you guys have any idea what he might have meant by playing hide-and-seek?"

Rune shook his head, but Thatz looked contemplative. "Maybe he's hiding and waiting for us to find him." He suggested.

"Thatz," Rune admonished. "Now is not a good time to be joking."

"Wait," Kai-stern cut in, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought. "Maybe Thatz is right." The thief stuck his tongue out at the elf, as the blue dragon officer paced about the room. "Maybe he _is_ waiting for us to find him."

The three men looked at each other for a moment. "Check the west wing, Rune. Thatz, you take the east wing." Kai-stern instructed. "I'll check the northern and southern wings."

And so, each went their own little ways.

---

About three hours later, Rune met up with Thatz by the main doors. "I can't find him anywhere." Rune panted, bending over to concentrate on breathing.

"Me neither." Thatz leaned against the wall, holding his hand to his heart. "What about Kai-stern?" He asked, looking at Rune.

Rune looked at his fellow dragon knight, bewildered. "I haven't seen him at all."

"Me neither." Thatz leaned back, thinking again. "Maybe we should go help him?" He looked at Rune, the look on his face thoughtful.

"_Maybe_." Rune answered sarcastically. With that, they ran off towards the north wing of the castle.

Meanwhile, at the complete opposite end of the palace, in the south wing, Kai-stern found Rath hiding under the sink of one of the many kitchens there.

"You know, Rath," Kai-stern started. "It's no fun to play hide-and-seek if your seekers have no idea that they are even supposed to seek."

No response.

"You can come out now." Kai-stern said gently to the cupboard. The doors shook once, and out came a red head.

"Kai-stern!" Suddenly Kai-stern found himself in a tight grip.

"Rath?" He looked down onto the shaking head. "What's wrong?"

The shaking didn't stop. "Did I do something wrong?" A small voice asked. "Was it something that I did? Did I do anything to drive her away?"

Kai-stern felt the sympathy settle into his heart. "That's not something that Cesia would do." He tried to reassure him. "If it was you that drove her away, then she would've left years ago." He attempted to joke.

If anything, the shaking got worse. "Then that's why she left now." Rath responded. "Why do I care, Kai-stern? _Why do I care_?"

"You care," Kai-stern started in a gentle voice. "Because she is someone you care about." He stated simply.

"Heh," Rath smiled bitterly. "Isn't there more than that?"

Kai-stern nodded, but didn't say anything. Rath waited.

"You need her." The older man said softly. Rath stiffened, yet Kai-stern continued talking. "Just the way she needs you." He looked to smile gently upon his longtime friend. "Which is why she _will_ come back."

Rath looked at him, and mustered up a reluctant smile. "Thank you, Kai-stern." He said quietly, before pulling away and walking off. Kai-stern's smile never disappeared as he watched Rath leave.

When the red head entered the main hall, Rune and Thatz rushed towards him.

"Rath! Where in the world were you!"

"We couldn't find you anywhere!"

"Hush guys." Rath smirked, and his friends looked confused. "You don't need to worry anymore..."

_...Because I'm here to stay._

---

**A/N:** This is going to be a slightly long note for everyone. First of all, I'd like to say I'm incredibly sorry for not updating for a year? A really long time? But it's my fault for not working on this. Second of all, I'm not continuing this anymore, along with all my other stories. I just haven't been able to find the motivation or time to work on these pieces anymore. I don't know if anyone reads this anymore, but I apologize deeply. This, along with probably another chapter of 'Guns and Handcuffs' will be my last update here. Maybe if in the future, I might come back to these, but for now, everything is discontinued. I thank everyone for understanding.


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